Stitches
by Audrey Jenkins
Summary: "There is just something about you that makes me forget." murmured Winry. Winry/Havoc
1. The Beginning

**Author Notes: Well, this isn't the first time I tried writing an FMA story. But I hope you all like it. It's going to go rather slow. I mean I tried looking for stories similar to the concept of the one that I wrote below and they all went pretty fast. And I know I'm not good at writing so please, I need constructive criticism as the story goes on. Thank you! Please review!**

Chapter 1

The anguish and pain never left her.

She was taking it much better than the first time he had left her but the second time made her feel worse inside. He had knowingly left her behind. And that will always be in her mind, until the day she died. But she was alive, and so she was consumed in a disease that you couldn't treat.

She loved Edward Elric. Even now, with him deserting her forever, she loved him. And Winry knew that she would always love him. Granny was always telling her that she needed to move on, but it was hopeless. After all, it was only 3 months since Ed and Al went to the other side. It was impossible. It was impossible to heal this hole inside her when they were gone.

Only 3 months. Instead, it has felt like 3 years to me. She thought this as she climbed down the steps only to be greeted by a bright light of the morning sunshine. Winry groaned and hurried to pull down the curtains. The outside seemed to happy for her tastes.

She munched on some oatmeal but after a couple of bites she quickly lost her appetite and threw the rest away. _I'll eat something later._ She hurried to her basement to finish the automail of Mark Gusiel, one of her regulars. She flicked on the light and breathed in the smell of metal and oil. She loved those smells.

_He was visiting her again. Of course, he had crushed her precious automail and he wouldn't even tell her how he did it. She had been furious with him earlier but now as she looked at him sleeping on her couch, all the feelings of anger evaporated. She picked up his trademark red coat and examined it. "How tacky." She remembered saying. But then, she pressed it up against her face and breathed in deeply and smelled Edward's scent. It was more lovely than the smell of oil and-_

She shook her head. She was trying to get rid of all those idiotic memories._ Forget them, Winry. Just like they forgot you. Forget them. Erase them from your memories. _She chanted these words as she wrapped her bandana across her forehead to keep her hair out of the way. _Forget them. _She picked up her wrench and sat at her workbench and worked.

* * *

A couple sat opposite of each other in a train. One of them was a man; his shaggy dark hair obscured his eyes as he leaned back in the cushion and slept soundly. The other, a woman, her wide eyes were observing her environment. Her blonde hair neatly pinned back and her military uniform was neatly ironed and did not consist of a miniskirt. She looked out the window and saw nothing more than grassy plains and mountains. What a contrast from Central, she thought, it was a city were you could hardly see the stars at night and there were hardly any flat surfaces that did not have a building built upon it.

The train hit another bump and she internally flinched at the bruises that would soon form from the uncomfortable train ride.

_Attention all passengers headed for Resembool. Attention all passengers headed for Resembool. The train will arrive at approximately 10 minutes. Please gather you're belongings and prepare to arrive._

"Colonel," the woman said to the sleeping man," We're here."

The man opened one eye and looked outside.

"Yeah, it sure looks like it."

"What do you think we will find?"

The Colonel mussed his hair with his hand.

"Well, hopefully, she has gotten better from the last time that we saw her."

_She was sobbing uncontrollably and punching Roy's chest. _

"_They're gone! They're gone again! They left me again!" He felt her pain. Literally and emotionally. She had to let her grief out somehow and he would rather have her punch her then blow her pretty little brains out with a handgun at her local gun shop. But just as that thought crossed his mind she ceased punching him and buried her hands into her face. "I have nothing to live for. I have no one to live for anymore." She whispered. Roy and his group were all present. Most knew who she was, and even those that didn't, were still shocked at her words. Winry suddenly looked up and Roy. She made eye contact with him even though tears were still profusely streaming down her eyes._

"_Kill me, Roy Mustang. Kill me just like you killed my parents, you bastard."_

"_Alright. That's enough, Winry."_

_Riza had stepped in. _

"_I think you should rest now."_

"Colonel. The train stopped."

Roy blinked away the memory and looked away from the window, noticing it had stopped moving.

"Alright. Let's go."

Both looked anxious as they stepped off the train and headed for the Rockbell house.

* * *

Winry stopped working and took off her goggles to wipe her brow. She glanced at the time. It read 3'oclock in the afternoon. She had woken up at around 7 AM. And she remembered that she hadn't eaten all day except for some spoonfuls of oatmeal. Then she grew worried due to the fact that she still wasn't hungry. She brushed her worries away with a simple "I'll eat later." Winry snapped her goggles back on, when she heard stiff pounding on the door. Sighing, she took off her goggles and was starting to get up when Granny Pinako opened the basement door.

"I'll get the door. You finish that automail." She said and then closed the door.

Gratefully, she snapped her goggles back on again. She wasn't ready to go out into the outside world just yet.

* * *

She wasn't as young as she used to be but she still managed. Pinako walked to the door, not sure who it could be. She had opened her door to everything that she could imagine. From a suit of armor carrying his brother, who was bleeding profusely, to Hoenhiem. _I can't be surprised anymore. _She chuckled inside as she unlocked the door and swung it open.

It was those military people. "Hello Ma'am," the Colonel said," Sorry to disturb you but we would like to talk to Winry if that won't cause you too much trouble."

She took a puff of her pipe and exhaled.

"Winry is working on some automail that needs to be done by tonight. I can't disturb her at the moment. But you've come a long way. Come in."

She held the door open wider for them to step in. As they both walked into the house, she noticed the ever present handguns on the woman's hips.

All three sat down at the dinner table and there was a pause before Roy broke the silence.

"How is Winry holding up? The last time we saw her was three months ago when Edward and Alphonse left."

Pinako took another puff from her pipe and exhaled again. She held her pipe in her hand as she thought about these past three months. These people, they cared about her. 'Course they only cared about her because they knew how much Edward meant to her. She stuck the pipe in her mouth.

"I don't know what to tell you. I can count the times she has gone outside into the sunlight on one hand. And I can also tell you that she hasn't been eating. And the last thing I can tell you is, do not mention those boys in front her of her." She took another puff.

Both Hawkeye and Roy were silent as they digested what the elderly woman had said to them. Roy sighed and stood up motioning for Hawkeye to do the same.

"Thank you for your time. We should really get going now. It's a long way back to Central." Roy walked out the front door and Riza gave the old woman a handshake before following him and closing the door with a slam. The elderly woman stood by the door smoking her pipe wondering what just happened. Those two weren't here for no more than 15 minutes and they left as quickly as they came.

Winry came out from the basement door looking exhausted.

"I finally finished the automail. Who was it at the door?"

Pinako paused for a moment before answering.

"Just the neighbor asking for some flour. Nothing else."

And the house was silent.


	2. Rescue

**Author's Note: Yeah, I think this chapter is useless. Well, I tried to put my English classes to use and tried to use foreshadowing but I think I failed. So I'm going to try again next chapter. :P So yeah, if you weren't satisfied with this chapter. I'm sorry! I'll try to update next weekend and try to update more often to speed up the story. I was going to try to write more but I was writing at midnight and I had to go to sleep so once again, I apologize.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own FullMetal Alchemist.**

Chapter 2

_ Winry felt like her head was going to split in two. She held her hands to her head and tried to bear the excruciating pain. She didn't know where she was, but she just wanted the pain to go away. A whimper escaped her lips and her eyes started to tear up._

_ "Winry! What's wrong? Are you alright?"_

_She knew that voice, but it couldn't be. It couldn't be him. That was just impossible. _

_ "Open your eyes. Tell me what's wrong. Winry? Can you talk?"_

_A cold, metal, hand grasped one of her arms and pulled her up from the ground. She was lying on the ground? And she didn't notice? And the arm…was automail. She slowly opened one eye and first thing that she saw was his golden yellow hair. She felt like she was going to vomit._

_ "Ed? Is that you?" she asked pulling herself out of his grasp. She had no idea how she could stand while she had this headache._

_ He grinned from ear to ear. "Yeah, I'm finally home."_

_Her heart had been suffocating underneath all of her grief but with that simple sentence she felt like she could actually breathe for the first time in who knows how long. She stumbled over to him and hugged him as hard as she could, which wasn't very much in the first place._

_ "Winry?," he asked," Are you okay? Do you need help standing up?"_

_ "Oh, it's just that I have this migraine it won't go away." She said._

_ "I wish I could help but I have to go."_

_She looked up at him, shocked. "What...are you saying?"_

_ "I have to go. I'm so sorry."_

_And sure enough, she could see him slowly disappearing and becoming lighter._

_ "No! You can't leave me again Edward! You can't!" _

_Her heart couldn't breathe again. She was sobbing. Why did she always have to cry?_

_ Edward smiled at her. "It's okay. It may hurt now, but the pain will go away. You will find something to make it go away. I'm sorry that it couldn't be me."_

_Was he talking about her headache?_

_ "Wait, Ed! "She said," How is your automail? Don't break it!"_

_He chuckled. (Oh, how she missed his laugh.) "It's working fine." He was almost completely gone._

_ "Oh, one more thing before I leave. Alphonse said Hello. And say Hey for Colonel Bastard for me." _

_And he was gone._

She woke up soaked in sweat. Her hair was clinging to her back and her breath coming in short raspy pants. The dream was so real. The pain was so real. Then she realized that she was in the basement. _How did I get here? Did I sleepwalk…? _ Her legs felt like concrete bricks as she made her way back up the stairs. She felt so suffocated, she couldn't breathe right. It felt like there was someone sitting on her chest making it difficult to breathe. Winry made her way to her room and collapsed on her bed, mentally exhausted. _I can't believe I'm sleepwalking…_and with that thought the sweet embrace of deep sleep swallowed her again making sure she forgot absolutely everything that had to do with the name Edward Elric.

* * *

Sciezka was on a train. She was headed to meet with Winry but unfortunately, she was under orders. She sighed leaned against the back of the seat, and tried to think of way to tell Winry why she was there. Sciezka closed her eyes and thought about the earlier events in the day.

_Sciezka ran into Central Headquarters. How could she oversleep! She burst through the doors with a quick 'Good Morning' to the sectary at the front desk. Sciezka was panicking. She __**could not **__lose this job. It was the only thing maintaining her and her mother. No other job would hire a bookworm like her. She made her to the elevators and pressed the up button at least 20 times. Oh, you've got to be kidding! Why is it taking so long! She thought angrily. Then the elevator doors opened with a Ding! And she ran into the elevator not noticing someone was in there until she ran into him straight on._

_ "Oh! I'm so sorry Colonel Mustang!" She said to her superior officer._

_ "Sciezka! You're just the person that I need! You are the answer to my problems!" said Roy Mustang with an unusual tone of excitement._

_ "Uh, I AM??" _

_ "Yes, you are. Why don't you come to my office so I brief you in my problem?"_

_ "S-Sure."_

_ Colonel Mustang pressed the up button and the two rode in silence which quickly became awkward._

_ "Did you know, Sciezka, that every time there is an awkward silence a gay baby is born?"_

_ "N-No, Sir. I didn't."_

_ Gratefully, at that precise moment the elevator doors opened with an obnoxious Ding! and solved Roy Mustang and Sciezka's awkwardness. The Colonel motioned Sciezka with a wave of a hand to follow him. As they made it to his office, Sciezka started panicking. What if he's going to ask me about my job? Or what if they asked the Colonel to make some job cuts? What if he's firing me!? By the time that they entered the empty office, she was sweating bullets._

_ "I need you to go talk to Winry Rockbell and stay there for a week."_

_ That took her completely by surprise. And her relief easily showed on her face._

_ The Colonel laughed. "Did you think I was firing you?"_

_ "N-No! Of course not!" And she tried to laugh too but it came out strained._

_ "Well do you accept?"_

_ "Yes sir. I do accept." She said with a salute._

_ "Very well. Here are the details of the 'mission'." He turned around and rifled through his paperwork and finally came up with a manila folder. "You are to leave immediately. Good bye Sciezka. You are excused."_

_ "Yes sir."_

After that, she immediately boarded the next train to Resembool. She opened her eyes, pushed up her glasses, and opened the folder to start reading.

* * *

The train had finally arrived at her destination. And she had also finished reading the contents of the folder. She had to stay there for at _least _a week and she had to deliver a full report on her mental stability. _Of course, _she thought, _Edward is really gone now._ She was the last passenger to get off the train and she headed for the house she once lived in a long time ago. She remembered the day that Edward came back and left all in the same day. Those memories were nothing but the past to her. But those memories haunted Winry Rockbell. How could she help her? Sciezka walked through the train station hoping she would make it to the house before nightfall.

* * *

Winry was doing everything possible to keep busy to avoid going into the kitchen. Granny was in the basement working on a client's automail and she couldn't go down there. But there was nothing to do, and she refused to go outside. She was pacing back and forth, anxious, when there was a soft knock on the door. She didn't really want to open it, but she had no choice.

She swung open the door. Her eyes opened a little and her mouth fell open slightly.

"Oh my gosh! Sciezka!" Winry yelled.

"Hi Winry. It's me." Sciezka said with a smile.

Winry grabbed by the arm and pulled her in. And she was about to close the door when she noticed the luggage standing by the door.

"Are you going to stay?"

"Well, I got a week off of work and I decided to come see you since I haven't seen you in a while. How have you been?"

"I've been fine. Here let me carry your luggage upstairs. How has work been?"

As Sciezka followed Winry from behind she couldn't help but notice how thin her arms were and how her pants were slipping off her already slim figure.


	3. Destructive Interference

**Author's Note: I think I made Sciezka OOC. I didn't do it on purpose but I like to think that everyone has a serious side to them and I think that Sciezka should be serious in while she stays with Winry but I dunno. This whole chapter seemed a bit off too me. Maybe I'll fix it. Another day. Well, um, yeah. Enjoyyy. I made it a bit longer. This is 6 pages on Microsoft Word so don't think I slacked off. (And yes, this chapter is kind of important and I hope that you can catch the extra something that made me a feel a bit clever. And did the foreshadowing work this time? :D)**

Sciezka sat by the window in the guest room. It was quite bare but it was a humble room. It included a twin-sized bed, a small bedside table, a shelf by the wall, and a decent closet. The bed was lumpy (but she wasn't complaining) and the shelf looked like it had been collecting dust over the past months. She looked around the room, feeling as if she wasn't the only person to have slept in here. Her attention shifted from the room to the window. It was the only window in the room and it was positioned just so that the morning sunshine shone right on the bed covering it in its warmth. Careful not to look at it directly into the sun, she sort of glanced at the sun at an angle. She had always thought of the sun as a big protective ball of fire. When she was in sunshine she always felt safe, like a child wrapped by his mother's arms. Her eyes shifted from the sun to the sky. _Why is the sky blue?_ She thought. _Is it because the sky is a mirror and reflects the ocean?_ She rolled her eyes at herself for the childish thinking. _It is because blue light from the sun strikes the air molecules and scatters and our eyes perceive it as blue. _

She usually did her deepest thinking in the morning and didn't wish to be interrupted by people so she woke up extra early. Early enough for everyone to be asleep but late enough for the sun to shining brightly. She yawned and lazily continued to stare out of the window. She thought about her Mother, the new book she bought at the Central train station, Roy Mustang, and at last she thought about Winry Rockbell. She had commented on Winry's loose pants but Winry had waved the comment away with a smile on her face and a simple "I accidently bought the wrong size." And had a made an excuse to leave the room. She sighed and closed her eyes. Here she was, imposing on her friend and she has to snoop around her life and find out she was stable enough not to commit suicide. She eased open her eyes and saw that the clouds had covered the sun. Her thoughts returned to Winry. She knew her, after all she was her friend, and she knew that she was smart enough not to kill herself. She had seen the fire in her eyes the first time Edward left, but she didn't see it this time. Her eyes were dead. Her bright passionate blue eyes seemed lifeless and maybe Colonel Roy Mustang did a good job on sending her here. Sciezka knew what she had to do. She needed to bring that fire back into Winry's eyes. Suddenly, the sun broke through the clouds and showered her with its sunshine again as if letting her know she had made the right decision. Sciezka smiled. She closed her eyes and this time, dozed off leaning against the window.

* * *

Winry had been awake for hours. She couldn't sleep anymore and that just made her angry because sleep was the only thing that made her forget. She turned her head towards the window on her right but quickly let out a frustrated grunt. The sunshine had flooded her room including half of her bed. She covered her head with the bed sheets blocking out the horrid sunlight. Back in the days of her childhood and peaceful ignorance, she used to bask in the sun's radiating rays. But now, her childhood is just useless memories and maybe she is still ignorant but it is no longer peaceful. She hated the sun now. It made her remember and it seemed like it was mocking her. The sun rises making life go on. But she didn't want to move on, and she hated the sun for that. It made life continue against her will. She wanted to stay in her bed forever. She wanted to sleep forever. She just wanted to close her eyes and never have to open them again.

But she knew it was futile. She knew she would have to get up soon and tend to Sciezka and probably work on more automail. She didn't care, as long as she didn't have to go outside, she didn't care. But first, she needed to close the blinds. She threw off the covers and quickly walked over to the window and swiftly pulled the windows closed. However, she caught a glance of the blue sky before it vanished from her view, _Why is the sky blue? _ she wondered. _Who really cares? _ She answered her own question as she closed her bedroom door closed and changed into her work clothes.

She pulled on her old sweats smeared with oil stains and wrapped her bandana around her head. However, she picked a loose shirt to hide her weight loss. Sciezka would probably get suspicious if her clothes were falling off of her again so she had to be extra careful. She opened her bedroom window again and walked towards the guest room. She assumed that Sciezka would be awake but when she knocked on the door and heard a loud gasp followed by a loud crash, she begged to differ. She creaked open the door surprised to find the bed empty. Her eyes swept the room and found her friend sitting by the window and in pain.

"Um, Sciezka, what were you doing?' Winry asked her.

"Oh, I was just looking outside of the window and I must have dozed off…" Sciezka crawled around on the floor looking for the glasses that fell off of her.

"Are you hurt?"

"No, no! Don't worry about me! I'm fine! But I can't…seem to find…glasses…" She continued to frantically look for her glasses when they were on the opposite side of her.

Winry walked over and picked them up and handed them to her.

"Oh, Thank you so much. If I had lost them, I wouldn't have been able to buy a new pair and you know my mother is in-"

She had put on the glasses and at a closer view she could see that Winry was far worse than she thought she was. She had bags underneath her eyes obvious from lack of sleep. Her hair looked dull and without shine and her eyes, her eyes were worse than just lifeless. Her eyes made it obvious to the world that she no longer had a reason to keep on waking up every morning. Automail and her childhood friends were the two reasons she got up from bed every day, but with one of them was gone, what would she do?

"Sciezka?"

She was pulled back to reality and she blinked trying to figure where she was again. She pushed herself off the ground and made her way outside of the bedroom to grab some breakfast with Winry following right behind her.

Scieska looked back towards the sunshine shining through the window and smiled.

"Don't you just love the sun?"

There was no answer.

* * *

Somewhere else

A young soldier leaned against a tree outside of Central Headquarters. He had been out there for a while waiting for his friends to come out so they could go out (and hopefully meet a girl). He looked up into the sky as he took a cigarette from his pocket and lit it up. He glanced at the sun and then shifted his attention to the sky. _I wish it was like this everyday. The only thing that could make today better would be if I had a date today. _He continued smoking as he looked up into the sky. He never was fond of rain, turned everything into mud. That's why he preferred the sunshine. It just made everything…peaceful. _But why is the sky blue?_ he wondered. But at the moment he could see Breda, Fuery, and Falman walk out of building. _It just is, I guess._ And he went to join them.

"Hey Havoc!" 2nd Lieutenant Breda yelled.

"Hey."

"Are you hoping to score tonight?" he grinned mischievously.

"N-No! That's just ridiculous!" He turned around quickly so they wouldn't see his blush crawling across his face.

Breda came up to him and nudged him on his side. "What about that bookworm? She seems to be into you." He teased.

"T-There's nothing going on between us!"

Breda crossed his arms across the back of his head. "Well, You don't seem to have much luck when it comes to women so I think you should try to date her. Or else you're going to end up an old man with 30 dogs."

"Lieutenant Breda! That's harsh!" Fuery said.

"Well, it's the truth!"

Falman patted the back of Havoc.

"It's alright Havoc. I'm pretty sure that you will get a young, pretty, blonde girl to be your girlfriend."

Havoc sighed. "When hell freezes over. Let's just go."

And as the four of them made their way downtown, Havoc looked up at the sky once more. _I guess I really don't know why the sky is blue._

* * *

It was around noon and she knew Sciezka was going to ask her why she hadn't eaten yet. But right now, they were sitting in her room, talking. And she knew where Sciezka wanted the conversation to go.

"Winry, how have you been since, you know, Edward and Alphonse left?"

"M'fine."

"Have you been eating properly?"

"You are not my mother, Sciezka." She snapped.

Sciezka glanced down at her hands.

"But how have you been? How's the military life?"

"Chaotic. Even though Fuhrer Bradley has been overthrown there are still so many documents that were lost in the library. And I still need to write them all down, and it's just so exhausting. And to make it worse, so many soldiers have been injured in the recent wars and even the Ishbal Civil War that the military want them to be equipped with automail."

"Oh. I see. And how is that going?"

Sciezka let out a huge sigh. "Not well."

"How is your personal life? Have you found a man yet?" Winry said with a hint of teasing.

"N-Not yet." Sciezka said. A blush spread across her face making her resemble a strawberry.

"Maybe you should look into it."

"I don't think I'll ever settle down. I'll be old and I'll live with 30 cats and I don't even like cats."

"You're still young, Sciezka. Don't worry about it." Winry said with a reassuring smile.

"Well, what about you? Is there another significant other in your life?"

"Excuse me. I'll go and make some tea."

Winry abruptly stood up and left room and soon enough there was an audible sound of tea cups clinking against each other. Sciezka looked outside Winry's window hoping to see some sunshine but saw that the curtains were drawn. She realized that it was too soon to talk about another significant other that was not Edward Elric. The wounds are not yet stitched and Winry was still bleeding. She took out her report from her bag and wrote in it while making sure that Winry was still downstairs.

Report on the mental stability of Winry Rockbell

Day 1: It appears that Winry Rockbell is still suffering from the loss of her childhood friends, especially Edward Elric. There is no signs of suicide tendencies however she is reluctant to eat and is defensive when asked to eat. She shows no sign of moving on with her life, and stays reclusive and inside of the safety of her home. She has not gone outside in the time period that I have been here. Also she has tends to avoid the sub-

"Sciezka?"

Sciezka stuffed the papers quickly back in her bag.

"What were you writing?"

"Oh, I've taken up writing down my thoughts. It keeps me level-headed." She lied.

"Oh, okay. Well, here's the tea." Winry set down a tray of two teacups and a teapot.

However, none of the women grabbed one.

"You know what I realized? It's too dark in here." Sciezka commented. She stood up and pulled the curtains apart letting the morning sunshine flood into the room.

Winry flinched.

Sciezka sat back down and poured herself some tea.

"Don't you just love the sun?"

There was no answer.


	4. Contempt & Distrust

_A/N: I KNOW IT HAS BEEN ALMOST A YEAR SINCE I UPDATED THIS STORY. But I'm not going to lie to you. I lost complete interest in this story. I was quite obsessed with FMA when I got the idea to write this. Who knows the next time I update but eventually I will finish. I apologize once again. _

Both of her sweaty palms gripped the bathroom sink to keep her from falling since her knees had suddenly given out. She stared at her reflection with a mixture of fear and confusion. She didn't know what to think. Her first impulse would have been to storm out of the bathroom, _she didn't give a damn of how she looked. She wasn't pleasing anybody anymore._ But she wrenched herself into the bathroom and locked the door and forced her eyes to look at the mirror. She hadn't taken a good look at herself since _they _left and at first she thought _Who cares? _And it was true. Winry didn't care. She looked at once shiny, golden, bright, bouncy blonde hair and compared it to now: dull, oily, tangled, split ends, damaged beyond repair. Her skin was no longer flawless and rosy, but blemished, with a slight tint of yellow.

Her eyes strayed from her (blemished) face to her neck and then to her collar bone. She traced it delicately with her fingers, amazed at how prominent it came to be. Suddenly, she grabbed the end of her tank top and yanked it up to the top of her bust and her eyes widened at the sight. Her skin was stretched thin over her rib cage, almost exposing them to the outside world. Her hands curved over each rib, slowly and gentle, pausing every couple of seconds. They traveled down her stomach and paused at her hip bones where she spent quite sometime examining them. This was a new concept to her. She had never actually seen any of her bones so prominent and up close. The only bone she ever saw was her ankle bone and that one didn't really count.

She pulled her shirt back down and again, placed her palms against the bathroom sink although they were no longer sweaty. Winry faced the mirror again but this time confusion didn't cloud her mind, but something that resembled confidence. Impulsively, she opened the bathroom drawer on the wall and pulled out a pair of scissors and placed them on the sink. Working quickly she pulled her hair into a hasty ponytail. Winry took a second to admire her hair; it was long enough for her to sit on it. It was a bit of shame that she was going to get rid of it. And with that last thought she took the scissors and with a single motion of her hand, she cut her hair.

Instantly, she regretted it. _He _had loved her hair. Sometimes, when they were alone he would comment on it and run his fingers through her hair. _H_e would never be able to do that again, since her hair now grazed her chin. She couldn't remember the last time she cut her hair so short. Maybe it was a good thing. Maybe her future lover would love her chin-length hair. Maybe he would dislike long hair and tell her not to grow it out because _it would just get all over the place._ Then he would kiss her and make her some waffles. Maybe, this was all a lie and she had gotten rid of the one thing she held pride in. She chucked her hair in the wastebasket and stormed out the bathroom, something that she should have done from the very beginning.

She stomped up the stairs all the way to the top but before she headed to her room she paused for a moment to try to ease her rapid breathing. She was going to walk into her room, say a quick goodbye to Sciezka while plastering on a cheerful grin, walk her to the door and hide in her room. It was a foolproof plan. Unless, Sciezka did something to ruin it.

Winry forced a smile and stepped into her room. Sciezka was bent over trying to pick up the last remaining remnants of her clothing that littered the floor. She could see her friend mumbling to herself "Where is that bra?" and falling to her knees and checking underneath Winry's bed. Sciezka had been sleeping there for the past week while Winry took to the couch. "It's okay! Don't worry about it, Sciezka!" Winry had said as she took some blankets with her. Sciezka had apologized repeatedly throughout the following days until Winry had threatened her earlier that she was going to kick her out of the house. It worked and she didn't hear anymore more the incessant apologizing.

Winry leaned over and picked up a lacy pink and white bra that had been lying on her desk for the past couple of days, and hooked her index finger through one of the straps and dangled it over her finger.

"Who knew the bookworm wears racy lingerie underneath the baggy sweatshirt?" Winry said teasingly.

Sciezka jumped at the sound of Winry's voice and cracked her skull against the bottom of the bed where she was still crawling around looking for the garment.

"Ouch." Sciezka said as she crawled from underneath the bed. She looked up and finally saw Winry leaning against the doorway still dangling the racy piece of lingerie in the air. She immediately turned a new shade of red and in record time, she snatched the bra from Winry's finger and shoved it in her suitcase while sputtering out excuses such as "It was a Christmas gift from my mom!" or "It's just if the occasion happens to appear!" and realizing that anything she says wouldn't help her in this situation, she finally shut up.

Sciezka intensely sighed and turned around to say something to Winry, when she forgot what she was going to say. She was in complete and utter shock.

"W-Winry! Your hair! What happened to your _hair!" _Sciezka finally managed to cough out.

"You like it?" Winry asked with a bit of a smile. She pushed her hair behind her ears. She was going to have to do something about that; it kept getting in her face.

"It's so short! It's shorter than my hair!" Sciezka's plain brown hair grazed her neck while Winry's hair now grazed the bottom of her chin.

"Well, I just thought it was time for a change. I've had long hair since I could remember. Maybe I'll find someone else who prefers short hair. Who knows?" and with that Winry began walking around her room putting items that had fallen to the floor back to where they belonged. Winry was in the process of putting one of her favorite hats in the closet (the hat that she was wearing when she was kidnapped by Barry the Chopper. She shuddered merely at the memory of the dead pigs hanging from the ceiling.) when she heard Sciezka blurt "Come with me to Central!"

The statement was so sudden and so uncalled for that Winry jumped a foot in the air and dropped the hat on the floor. Winry didn't dare turn around and face Sciezka with her proposition. Maybe if she stayed completely still, Sciezka would go away and leave her here. Winry wanted to stay here. She deserved to wallow in her self-pity. She bent down and picked the hat up, adjusting a flower that she had pinned on the side a few years ago, and finally placed it on a hook on the wall.

"Well?" Sciezka asked.

Winry swallowed and felt a lump in her throat. What was she supposed to say? What if she left? What if she stayed? Why did Sciezka want her to leave? Was she happy here?

"Why? Why do you want me to go with you?" Winry decided to ask after some time. She was still had her back to Sciezka and was staring intently on the flower that was on the hat. It was pale pink rose. She disliked roses but the color went well with the hat. She should've pinned a daisy instead of a rose. Roses are so typical.

"I think it would be healthier for you. There is no doubt that I can get you a job doing secretary work. However, I think if I pull some strings with the Colonel maybe we can get you job doing some mechanical work." Sciezka began to ramble about how beautiful Central was and how Winry wouldn't regret moving. However, Winry had stopped listening after Sciezka mentioned that she might be able to get her a job as a mechanic. Maybe she should listen to her gut. She knew that she needed to leave. Every time she walked the hallways of this house, or passed by the dining room, she was bombarded with memories of the Elric brothers, more specifically, Edward Elric. She would never be able to leave him if he haunted her mind in her very own home. She needed to be free of him, but she wanted him. She needed something in her life to keep her mind off of _him _and perhaps this move to Central could be the very thing she was asking for. But no matter how much she denied it all she wanted was for him to hold her again. All she wanted was for him to run his fingers through her hair and whisper in her ear during the night, just like how he used to when they were younger. She needed to feel him and breathe him in. She needed him to live. But no matter how many times she would deny it, she needed to forget him. He was taking over her life and he wasn't even here.

"Okay. I'll do it. I'll go with you. I'm going to go pack. We leave today." Winry said somewhat reluctantly. With that declaration, she headed out the room to pack the few belongings that she wanted to bring.

That evening, if you were to look for Winry Rockbell you wouldn't find her moping in her house. You would find her on a train leaving Resembool, staring at the scenery flashing past the window of the train. She was silent for most of the trip and did not notice Sciezka taking quick glances at her every couple minutes wondering if she had done the right thing. Maybe she should have left Winry and gone back alone. But before Sciezka even reconsidered it, she knew she had done the right thing. Leaving Winry would have been the worst decision she could have made. If she had left Winry behind, Winry would have eventually caused her own death.

Many hours later, the train finally came to a complete stop. Sciezka leaned forward and shook the young girl's arm to awake her from her deep slumber.

"Winry, we're here."

Winry slowly opened her eyes and took a moment to rest before getting to her feet. She glanced out the window to take a look at the bustling train station and only noticed that it was more crowded that she remembered it being. She took a second to notice the skyscrapers grazing the sky in the far distance and the ominous black tinge that was present in the sky, causing the sky to be a darker shade of blue instead of the baby blue that she was so very accustomed to. The people did not look friendly or eager to help someone in need but rather they all look like if they were in a hurry to get out of there or like if they couldn't be bothered and wouldn't stop to help someone up or help a kid find his mother. The people seemed guarded and protective of themselves. This was nothing like Resembool, the place where everyone knew each other and trusted one another. "_What the hell did she get herself into?"_ she thought as she stepped off the train into a city that held nothing but distrust and contempt in her eyes.


	5. The Thief's Cup

_A/N: I'M SORRY! Sometimes I forget I even have this up here. I've busy with life, college, and thinking about what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. No excuse though. I haven't updated since February. Let's hope next time it's not another 8 months. I have an idea now about where I want this story to go, so I think I'll update much faster. If you see any GRAMMAR or SPELLING mistakes, please let me know so I can fix them. Reviews are very much appreciated. Enjoy._

Just like every morning, her stomach feels hollow and empty and it hurts. Her stomach growls and screams at her to eat something, anything, and to just shove something in her mouth and eat it, so it can finally rest. But, she's stronger than that. She is the one in control and she will decide when it's time to eat.

But every morning, getting out of bed feels like running a marathon. She is often out of breath and once in a while she blacks out, and when she awakens, she's sprawled out on the floor like a drunk. That doesn't stop her. In fact, she doesn't even think about it.

This morning is no different. Winry pushes herself out of the bed and is already out of breath by the time she reaches the bathroom. She's still half asleep as she begins to brush her hair and do the same mundane routine everyday before work. Brush her hair, brush her teeth, check to see if she can still see her bones, pee, and get dressed.

The young blonde grabs a military uniform out of her closet and begins to undress. She never saw herself in this position. How could she? She always thought that she was going to marry _him_ and have kids and be a happy little housewife. Could she have been more wrong? And with that thought, she steps into the tight pencil skirt and shoves her feet into the standard black military boots and walks out the door, leaving her kitchen completely unused.

Sciezka had promised her a job as a mechanic, however Mustang told her that she needed to prove herself first in the workplace and immediately placed her as a standard typical secretary. When she first heard this, she was disgusted, but now she doesn't care. Winry could hear everyone talk about her; after all, she is Roy Mustang's new secretary. She's the new thing to gossip about and she can hear some of the women whispering to each other and wondering if she's been screwing the Colonel. Little do they know, she dies a little bit inside every time she talks to him.

Roy Mustang was headed to the bathroom when, for the first time, saw exactly how thin his new secretary was. As he walked by her, he made a mental note for him to talk to her later about her drastic weight loss. She looked like pencil in that uniform, and it was definitely not very attractive. He was deciding that he liked women with more meat on their bones, when he had the pleasure of stumbling into Jean Havoc.

"Excuse me, sir" said Havoc, saluting him.

"It's alright Havoc," said Roy "By the way, have you checked out the new secretary? She seems awfully cute."

"Are you sure she hasn't already asked you on a date?" Havoc says while giving his superior officer a suspicious look. All the secretaries around here had gone on at least one date with Roy Mustang.

"Well, Havoc, I can't help it if women just can't find me irresistible." Roy gave his hair a dramatic flip into the air and struck a pose.

Havoc simply sighed and began to walk away.

"Wait, Havoc!" Roy called out to him, "She's much too young for me."

By the time Havoc turned around, Roy was already walking away headed towards the restrooms. "_I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a look."_ Havoc thought. He decided that he would take one quick look and then get back to work. As he stuck his head around the corner of the lobby, his eyes caught a flash of lemon-blonde hair behind a desk. The secretary had chin length hair and startling blue eyes and fair skin. Just like Mustang had said, she seemed a bit young. Nevertheless, she was beautiful. But the more he stared at her the more he realized that, that lemon-blonde hair and startling blue eyes seemed terribly familiar.

"Hey, isn't that the Fullmetal Alchemist's childhood friend?"

Havoc jumped at the sudden appearance of Falman, but his surprise soon turned into a horrible gut feeling at the pit of his stomach. He now recognized her as Winry Rockbell, the unstable girl who, just 3 or so months ago, had begged the Colonel to kill her. He sighed once more. Why were the only available girls the psycho ones? And that wasn't the only problem that he had to face.

"Hey, Falman, how old is she?"

"Hmm, I suppose around the same age as Edward. I guess at around eighteen years of age," said Falman,"Wait, Havoc. You're not actually thinking about dating her? She's just a girl!"

"I wouldn't really consider her a girl anymore."

And Jean was right. Even with her emancipated look to her, Winry was a full grown woman with curves around her hips and breasts. Everything else was nothing but skin and bones. However, that wasn't noticeable to the public due to the coverage her uniform provided.

"You're right, Havoc. I won't stop you since she isn't considered a child anymore. Just be sure you know what you are doing. You are a man after all," said Falman. He then muttered something to Havoc about returning to work and quickly left.

Excited that there was a new woman to pursue and a new opportunity to finally get a girlfriend, Havoc turned around and walked towards his office.

Winry had only drunk alcohol once before. Years ago, Winry was offered a bottle of liquor and decided to try it out. She had brought the bottle to the lips and let the liquid fall back against her tongue and her throat. She then spit the stuff back out and handed the bottle back and vowed never to drink again. She remembers the burning sensation and how revolting it tasted.

And so now she wonders how the hell she ended up at a bar. But she's only kidding herself; she knows perfectly well how she managed to end up there.

_She was done with work for the day and was already heading out the door when she heard someone calling out her name._

_ "Miss Rockbell! Miss Rockbell!"_

_ She turned around and saw a woman running after her. The woman had almond-shaped green eyes which reminded her of two bright flashing emeralds. Her hair was thick and with massive chocolate colored curls that stuck out in random spots. Her skin was china white with nearly nonexistent eyebrows. She wore the typical military uniform; however she wore some tall, black heels which were a bit too sexy for work._

_ "Yes?" Winry said as the woman finally caught up to her._

_ The woman was out of breath, but she talked in between breaths. "Hello, Miss Rockbell. My name is Claudine Selena Tate. You can just call me Claude. I couldn't help but notice that you're new here and I was wondering if you would like to join my friends and I for a drink at The Thief's Cup, it's the most popular bar. You are at least eighteen, right?"_

_ Without really thinking about it, she nodded and crammed into Claude's car along with her friends (who all introduced themselves but she couldn't bother remembering them) and ended up here. _

_ Right before entering the bar, Claude walked over to her and whispered in her ear, "Surprisingly, men love a woman in uniform." She winked at Winry and opened the door for her._

Winry regretted it now. She should have said no, but it was far too late now. She was surrounded by women far older than her and was beginning to feel uncomfortable. One of the women sitting near her, with coal black hair and dashing hazel eyes, handed her a glass. "Drink up," she said with a wink.

Suddenly, she saw this as a chance to be accepted among her peers. She didn't want to be friends with any of them, but maybe they would stop gossiping about her and that's all she wished for. Winry summoned all her courage and tossed back the drink. She felt the same burning feeling, but this time she didn't give a damn.

"Another one," she managed to cough out.

Immediately, someone placed a glass in front of her and she tossed it back as well. This continued with at least 3 more glasses, each one filled to the rim with alcohol.

Why hadn't anyone told her how beautiful it was to get drunk? She felt happy for the first time in months. She was giggly, clumsy, and flirtatious. Winry laughed at the stupidest things that Claude and Charlene, the woman with the black hair, said. She winked back at all the men that stared at her and she felt like she was on top of the world. Winry had managed to forget about _him_ and it was liberating.

She had decided she wanted another drink and stood from the table and began to walk to the bartender to ask for another one, when she fell to the ground. Suddenly, she became nauseous and wondered if she was really going to puke right at that moment. She finally managed to calm down her stomach enough not to hurl, but she realized that she needed to get home.

She stood up (with great difficulty) and walked over to Claude. "I'm going home," she simply stated to her.

"Alright, be shafe, okay?" Claude said, slurring her words.

And without a second thought of the dangers that awaited her, Winry stumbled out the bar and began to head home, even if she had no idea which direction it was in. She didn't get very far and quickly fell to the grimy sidewalk. However, there was someone to help her this time.

Two strong arms lifted her from the ground and helped her get balanced. At first, Winry panicked and her first thought was _I'm going to be raped_, and began to run, but the stranger grabbed hold of her hand. She was about scream when she noticed the familiar blue military uniform for the first time.

"Don't scream! It's me, Havoc. We work together," the stranger said.

Winry squinted and tried her hardest to focus on the man's face. Yes, she remembered him from the few times she went to Central in earlier years. He still had the same stupid cigarette between his lips, and he still smelled like an ash tray. But, she remembered him.

"Yeah, I remember you," Winry said, pronouncing each word slowly so she wouldn't slur them.

"Are you drunk?" he immediately asked. He could smell the whiskey on her.

She became defensive and ripped her hand from his grasp. "So what if I am?" she snarled.

He ignored her and placed a hand on her shoulder to steady her. "Why don't I get a taxi for you? It's dangerous for you to walk at this time at night, especially in your condition."

She had to think about it first, but it was so hard to think. Her thoughts were jumbled and she couldn't think logically. She screwed up her eyes in concentration and tried to think of what to do. But it was too late; this man called 'Havoc' had already flagged down a taxi.

"Where do you live?" he asked her as he guided her into the taxi.

"The apartment complex down Broadway Avenue," she said. Was she slurring her words? She really hoped she wasn't. She didn't want to look like a drunk.

As they drove, Winry noticed how dirty the taxi was. The floor was littered with gum wrappers, discarded papers, empty condom packages, and who knows what else. The windows were tinted black and were caked with dirt, and she did her best to avoid touching it. Her eyes traveled from the window to the seats to the man sitting next to her. His blue eyes were fixed on the road ahead of him and didn't notice her staring at him. Who was this man? She had never talked to him before and vaguely remembered seeing him earlier in life. Why would he go out of his way to help her?

"Why did you help me?" she asked. Winry had to know.

Havoc was surprised by her sudden question and he didn't really have an answer for it. He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, looking for an answer that would satisfy her question.

"Well, I couldn't just leave a gal out by herself, could I?" he finally said, grinning sheepishly.

Winry didn't say anything and just looked away. The rest of the car ride was silent with the occasional yawns from the taxi driver.

After several minutes of being on the road, the driver parked in front of an apartment complex and Havoc helped Winry out of the car.

"Hey!" the driver called out the window," that's 600 cenz."

Winry groaned. She had spent all her money on glasses of whiskey. However, Havoc just smiled at her. "I'll take care of it," he said and handed the driver a handful of coins.

He put his arm around her shoulder and guided her up the various staircases that lead to her apartment. Winry began to protest. "You don't have too. Really, you don't. I can take care of myself."

Havoc simply rolled his eyes. "Of course, you can," he said sarcastically.

Once they reached her apartment, Winry took a key out of her purse, but couldn't get the key inside the lock. That's when she realized how drunk she was.

"I'm sorry. Could you open the door for me?" she asked Havoc.

He didn't say a word. He simply took the key from her hand and unlocked the door. The door opened with a creak and helped her inside.

Winry stumbled into her apartment and made her way to the kitchen. She began to prepare a glass of water and asked Havoc if he wanted some, but he shook his head. She had her back to him as she drank her cup of water and Havoc couldn't help but notice how pretty she really was, even if her legs and arms were rather thin. Here he was alone with a drunk, pretty girl in her apartment. How easy could it be to make her his tonight? How easy could it be to have her shown him her bedroom? Falman's earlier words echoed in his head "_Just be sure you know what you are doing. You are a man after all" _and he knew that he need to leave. He would never, no matter how desperate he wanted a girl, and he shouldn't have put himself in this situation.

"Miss, I'm going to be leaving now. I need to get back or else my friends will worry about me," he said.

Winry turned around and gave him a sad smile. "Thank you for taking care of me. I promish I'll pay you back," she slurred.

"Don't worry about it," he said, grinning. And with that, he gave her a last wave and walked out the door, walked down the staircases and waited by the sidewalk to flag down another taxi.

It was already late by the time he arrived back at The Thief's Cup and everybody else was already there and they cheered when they saw him walk into the bar.

"Hey, Havoc. Where the hell have you been?" asked Breda.

Havoc sighed as he slid into a chair next to him. He ordered a glass of whiskey before turning to Breda.

"'Just decided to take a save a girl tonight and took her home," Havoc said.

"Jeez!" exclaimed Breda," Ya' lucky bastard."

Havoc laughed. "Nothing happened and it _still _cost 600 cenz."


End file.
